1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to fault diagnosis and prognosis systems and, more particularly, to a fault diagnosis and prognosis system and method using temporal data mining.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Diagnostic and prognostic techniques for monitoring a vehicle's state of health can help forecast the occurrence of a problem in order to take preventive measures before a significant incident occurs. These techniques become more important where a component or system failure can have critical implications, such as loss of vehicle functions. Further, manufacturers can minimize customer dissatisfaction caused by failures or degradations in vehicle performance.
Traditionally, fault diagnosis is performed off-board by a technician who connects a computer, or other diagnostic tool, to the vehicle's electrical bus that is connected to one of the vehicle's electronic control units (ECUs). Once connected, diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) are extracted from the ECU and used to help determine what has caused the failure. More recently, vehicles have been equipped with on-board diagnostics, which are configured to provide a vehicle operator or technician with diagnostic information without having to manually connect to the vehicle's electrical bus. This diagnostic information however, whether received off-board or on-board, is limited to snap-shot data provided by the DTCs and selected operating parameters. Although DTC diagnostic data can help to determine the cause of an existing fault, DTCs were not designed to provide early warning of a component or system failure.
Therefore, what is needed is an enhanced diagnostic and prognostic system and method configured to provide early warning to a technician or vehicle operator that a component or system is likely to fail in some specified time frame.